Vinicius Junior will miss the first El Clasico of the season after the Spanish Football Federation's disciplinary committee confirmed a four-match La Liga ban for the Real Madrid forward on Wednesday.
The Brazil international was sent off during Saturday's 1-0 win over Villarreal, and the committee has now set out the full price of a few seconds of madness: two matches for the hair pull itself, and two more for the way he reacted to the decision.
How a goal turned into a red card
Vinicius had started the Villarreal game on the bench after a difficult opening to the season, and came on looking like the match-winner. He converted a Jude Bellingham pass to seemingly put Madrid 2-0 up — only for a VAR review to spot that, moments earlier in the move, he had pulled Nathan Saliba's hair as the pair sprinted downfield.
The goal was disallowed and Vinicius was shown a straight red card in the 73rd minute. His reaction made a bad situation worse: according to the referee's report, he protested aggressively and had to be held back by team-mates as he left the pitch. The committee ruled the offence was violent conduct committed while not in a position to challenge for the ball, and added the second two-game sanction for the protests.
As Reuters reported, the committee also noted that Madrid had produced no evidence capable of disproving the referee's account. Vinicius apologised to team-mates and supporters on social media after the match, writing: "I am sorry to the team and the fans."
The four games he misses
The suspension is a La Liga ban, and its timing could hardly be worse for Madrid. Vinicius sits out Sevilla at home on Sunday, then the trip to face league leaders Barcelona at Camp Nou on 25 October, followed by away games at Racing Santander on 1 November and Valencia on 7 November. He will not play another league match until after the November international break.
The one relief for Jose Mourinho is that the ban does not apply in Europe. Vinicius was named in the starting line-up for Wednesday night's Champions League trip to Roma — the Mourinho homecoming we previewed in our Roma coverage — and he is also available to face RB Leipzig on 21 October and AEK Athens on 4 November. FOX Sports, reporting the Associated Press account of the verdict, confirmed the ban is confined to domestic competition. Madrid are also reported to be preparing an appeal, though the committee's wording leaves little obvious room for one to succeed.
So what happens now?
Madrid go to Camp Nou six points behind a Barcelona side with a perfect record this season, and they go without the forward who has started all but one of their matches. It will be Mourinho's first Clasico since his return to the Bernabeu dugout this summer, and the absence of his most explosive wide player reshapes the whole game plan: whoever deputises on the left — and however Madrid choose to attack — will be doing it against the league's form team, away from home, with the title race already threatening to tilt.
There is a wider question for Vinicius himself. One goal in nine appearances, a place on the bench on Saturday, and now a month out of league football: a season that began with a new contract running until 2032 is drifting, and a long Champions League-only diet of games is not how a player plays his way back into form or favour. Our Wednesday preview set out how much was already riding on Madrid's European nights this week.
Beyond the Final Whistle
This ban hurts Madrid twice — once at Camp Nou, and once in the head. A hair pull is a moment of lost control, but the extra two games for screaming at the referee are the real indictment: Madrid's biggest-game player talked himself out of the biggest game. Barcelona did not have to lift a finger to weaken their rivals for 25 October — Vinicius did it for them. If Madrid lose the Clasico and the gap becomes nine points, Saturday's red card will be remembered as the weekend the title race turned.
Does a four-match ban fit the offence — or has Vinicius been made an example of? Have your say in the comments.
